In many cases, administrators receive bonuses. At some universities the entire MBA staff benefits if the rankings for their programs improved. The pressure is perhaps greater than that experienced by CFOs on earnings results. Temple University submitted data to U.S. News and World Report that was not accurate for four consecutive years. As a result, the MBA online program at Temple was ranked the #1 online program in the United States for 2014-2018.
According to a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Education, Temple submitted false information in the following categories:
(1) the number of Fox School entrants providing GMAT scores as part of the application process,
(2) the mean undergraduate GPAs of students admitted to certain programs offered by the Fox School,
(3) the number of offers of admission extended by the Fox School to applicants,
(4) the debt levels of Fox School students who borrowed loans to pay tuition, and
(5) the ratio of full-time technology support personnel to supported faculty members at the Fox School.
Without admitting any wrongdoing, Temple agreed to pay a $700,000 fine. Temple had already settled a lawsuit brought by current and former business students over the false data for $5.5 million. A report by the law firm of Jones Day that was commissioned by the University found that there were similar data reporting issues in six other university programs.
Temple administrators said that they had taken steps to ensure data verification prior to its submission for external use. Temple now has a data-verification unit. Temple also settled a suit brought by the Pennsylvania Attorney General, a settlement that also required certain internal changes to ensure data accuracy.
The dean at the time of the data falsification was terminated, but he has filed suit against the university for defamation. He has advanced an “under the bus” defense, calling himself a “scapegoat” for the university.
Oh, what a tangled web. Oh, what times are these when universities cannot be trusted to submit accurate data. Now if they could only do the same thing with faculty research.
About mmjdiary
Professor Marianne Jennings is an emeritus professor of legal and ethical studies from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, retiring in 2011 after 35 years of teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in ethics and the legal environment of business. During her tenure at ASU, she served as director of the Joan and David Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics from 1995-1999. In 2006, she was appointed faculty director for the W.P. Carey Executive MBA Program. She has done consulting work for businesses and professional groups including AICPA, Boeing, Dial Corporation, Edward Jones, Mattel, Motorola, CFA Institute, Southern California Edison, the Institute of Internal Auditors, AIMR, DuPont, AES, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Motorola, Hy-Vee Foods, IBM, Bell Helicopter, Amgen, Raytheon, and VIAD.
The sixth edition of her textbook, Case Studies in Business Ethics, was published in February 2011. The ninth edition of her textbook, Business: lts Legal, Ethical and Global Environment was published in January 2011. The 23rd edition of her book, Business Law: Principles and Cases, will be published in January 2013. The tenth edition of her book, Real Estate Law, will also be published in January 2013. Her book, A Business Tale: A Story of Ethics, Choices, Success, and a Very Large Rabbit, a fable about business ethics, was chosen by Library Journal in 2004 as its business book of the year. A Business Tale was also a finalist for two other literary awards for 2004. In 2000 her book on corporate governance was published by the New York Times MBA Pocket Series. Her book on long-term success, Building a Business Through Good Times and Bad: Lessons from Fifteen Companies, Each With a Century of Dividends, was published in October 2002 and has been used by Booz, Allen, Hamilton for its work on business longevity. Her latest book, The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse was published by St. Martin’s Press in July 2006 and has been a finalist for two book awards.
Her weekly columns are syndicated around the country, and her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Reader's Digest. A collection of her essays, Nobody Fixes Real Carrot Sticks Anymore, first published in 1994 is still being published. She has been a commentator on business issues on All Things Considered for National Public Radio.
She has served on four boards of directors, including Arizona Public Service (1987-2000), Zealous Capital Corporation, and the Center for Children with Chronic Illness and Disability at the University of Minnesota. She was appointed to the board of advisors for the Institute of Nuclear Power Operators in 2004 and served on the board of trustees for Think Arizona, a public policy think tank. She has appeared on CNBC, CBS This Morning, the Today Show, and CBS Evening News.
In 2010 she was named one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Business Ethics by Trust Across America. Her books have been translated into four different languages. She received the British Emerald award for authoring one of their top 50 articles in management publications, chosen from over 15,000 articles.
Personal: Married since 1976 to Terry H. Jennings, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Deputy County Attorney; five children: Sarah, Sam, and John, and the late Claire and Hannah Jennings.
